The visa regime between Russia and China will be simplified

Proposals on a new stage of the simplification of visa regime between Russia and China were approved during the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Humanitarian Cooperation chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets and Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China Liu Yandong.

The proposals were drawn up and submitted to the Commission by the Russian tour operators-members of the travel Association “World without Borders”.

In particular, one of the proposals concerns the reduction of the required number of participants in a tourist group compulsory for the registration of a visa-free regime. According to the proposal of the tour operator, the minimum quantity of such a group should be three persons that will be especially convenient for those who travel with family. Besides, the maximum period of stay for such a group will also be extended; it will increase from 15 to 21 days. The increasing of the term of stay will help, in particular, to develop health resort tourism as a full course of the sanatorium therapy in Russia is just 21 days.

Among other proposals it was also the initiative of the full transition to the electronic document flow which will significantly simplify and speed up the process of registration of such groups.

According to the experts, amendments and proposals are necessary due to the fact that the latest agreement on visa regime was signed in 2000, and during this time the market situation has dramatically changed. For example, the interest of Chinese tourists to travel to Russia has significantly increased. During 2014 Russia was visited by about 1,125 million visa-free travelers from China, while 110 thousand of them visited Moscow. During the first half of this year, the number of Chinese citizens visiting Moscow has made more than 80 thousand people.